US proposes stricter emissions rules for refineries

WASHINGTON (ICIS)–The US proposed new emissions requirements for the nation’s 150 refineries on Thursday, saying that the common-sense rules would reduce pollution impacts for communities near refining facilities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that its new requirements, which will be made final by April of next year, “would further reduce toxic pollution from flaring and other processes” at refining sites.

The proposed rules also would include new monitoring and reporting requirements designed to measure pollutant levels at refinery fence lines “to ensure that emissions are controlled”, the agency said.

Those monitoring results would be made available to local communities.

In addition to reducing emissions from flaring, the proposed rules require upgraded emissions controls for storage tanks and the agency’s first emissions standards for delayed coking units.

The EPA said that refinery coking units “are currently a significant unregulated source of toxic air emissions at refineries”.

EPA administrator Gina McCarthy said that the proposed rules are “common-sense steps that will protect the health of families who live near refineries and will provide them with important information about the quality of the air they breathe”.

She said that when the intended measures are fully implemented, they will reduce refinery emissions of benzene, toluene and xylenes by some 5,600 tonnes annually and cut release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by approximately 52,000 tonnes/year.

McCarthy said that the new requirements for refiners would be cost-effective and should not have any impact on the consumer cost of gasoline and other energy products.

The proposed rules are open to public comment for 60 days, and McCarthy said that the EPA would hold two public hearings on the matter, one in Houston and the other at Los Angeles, on dates yet to be determined.

Paul Hodges studies key influences shaping the chemical industry in Chemicals and the Economy